MICROPOLIS CEO – Partners’ Meeting in LUND
First Partner’s Meeting of Micropolis CEO project took place in Lund (Sweden) on March 10-13, 2026.
The project kickstarted with the visit to Hemgården Lund. Hemgården is a settlement in Lund, Sweden that has been focused on active citizenship since 1942. Hemgården simultaneously works with leisure work, youth work, cultural work and social work for persons of all ages. DIY- Do it yourself and together is our method to achieve active participation of the participants. We firmly believe in life long informal learning and work actively with this in different aspects of our mission.
Micropolis CEO Partners from Poland and Denmark were greeted by Angela Noël, CEO of Hemgården and her team including Nuy Muliawati, Knut Fridh, Christopher Lundell-Ek, Bengt Björkman, Caroline Ekström, Katarina Jonasson and Nebojsa Marovic. The Swedish team showed the guests around the entire Hemgården building and explained how the organisation works. Later, during dinner and next day in the morning, there were presentations of the project teams with naming expectations of the project.
As the theme of Micropolis CEO is Community, Ecology and Organization – all of the Hemgården visit’s presentations were to choose presenters that showed how their grassroot organisations work together with Hemgården with these matters. Also to inspire how they organize themselves to promote the interest by, with and for marginalized groups. All the presenters gave hands on tips on how to give good conditions in order to help organizations such as theirs to do their important work. The organizations work closely with Hemgården for the mutual benefit of both organisations and to achieve synergies. All presentations highlighted empowerment and the importance of giving the interpretative prerogative to the group who has lived the experience.
On Wednesday, March 11 – Focus on Integration, Inclusion, and Youth Engagement
The day began with a presentation of the Tamam Association, led by Clara Gesler and Milad Mohammadi, highlighting their work promoting multiculturalism, anti-racism, and youth social engagement. Participants engaged in discussions and conducted a walk through the Lund University park Lundagård, followed by a visit to Lund Cathedral to observe it’s famous astronomical clock.
After lunch at Hemgården prepared by Knut Fridh, Angela Noël, CEO of Hemgården, introduced the Council of Integration and Inclusion of Lund. The council works in Lund to improve networking at eye level between the non profit sector and the politicians to better meet the needs of all inhabitants in the municipality.
The afternoon included a session by Hemgården’s music expert Christopher Lundell-Ek on how music is used pedagogically at Hemgården through the method of DIY and learning at all stages in life.
The evening ended with a common group dinner at Valvet Steakhouse
Thursday, March 12 – Equality, Activism, and Reflection
The morning featured a Zoom presentation by the Queer Independent Collective in Lund , organizers of the Queer Café, led by Yaël Deswarte and their team Defne Kartal & Jo Dole.
Ellen Hoffstein from Gräbba—a feminist NGO promoting youth engagement working hard for gender equality—concluded the speaker sessions.
During all the presentations’ sessions the speakers were asked very well informed questions by the participants who are all deeply engaged in the project, and this looks very good for the continuations of the Micropolis CEO project.
The day wrapped up with planning ahead for the coming parts of the project, and ended with closing remarks and lunch at buffet restaurant Rosegarden before a free afternoon exploring Lund, Kulturen open-air museum, Skissernas Museum, and the Hemgården neighbourhood.
Friday, March 13 – was the day of departure and cultural exploration for the participants in south Sweden as well as the Copenhagen Denmark area before returning to their origins.
